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Written Answers to Questions
Monday 13 December 2004
LEADER OF THE HOUSE
Special Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Leader of the House on how many occasions between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004 his special advisers travelled (a) domestically and (b) abroad in an official capacity; what places were visited; and how much each visit cost. [202252]
Mr. Hain: All travel by Special Advisers is undertaken in accordance with the guidelines set out in the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code. The information requested is as follows:
| Date of travel | Destination | Cost (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 17 November 2003 | Birmingham | 80.00 |
| 26 January 2004 | Birmingham | 111.00 |
| 23 February 2004 | Reading | 78.00 |
| 8 March 2004 | Cardiff | 156.00 |
| Total | — | 425.00 |
The visit on 17 November to Birmingham was made in connection with my speech there on the 'Future of Europe'. The three other domestic visits were made in connection with the outreach work of the Modernisation Committee inquiry into engaging with the public.
(b) No overseas visits were undertaken by my Special Advisers in 2003–04.
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Leader of the House whether special advisers for whom he is responsible have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997. [203456]
Mr. Hain: Special advisers hold meetings with a wide range of external representatives in their official capacity. All such meetings are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the "Code of Conduct for Special Advisers".
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Leader of the House how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers for whom he is responsible between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004. [203474]
Mr. Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 8 December 2004, Official Report, column 578W.
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Leader of the House whether departmental special advisers for whom he is responsible have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997. [203497]
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Mr. Hain: Any speeches made by special advisers in an official capacity are conducted in accordance with the "Code of Conduct for Special Advisers".
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Departmental Mobile Phones
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Solicitor-General how many departmental mobile telephones were used by the Law Officers, special advisers and officials in her Department in each year since 1997; at what cost; how many such telephones were lost or stolen in each year since 1997; and what the replacement costs were in each case. [202155]
The Solicitor-General: Details of the use of mobile telephones in the Law Officers' Departments are given in the table. 1998 is the earliest year for which information is available for the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, Crown Prosecution Service and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and on cost for Treasury Solicitor's Department. The information on costs covers the cost of equipment and call and access (line rental) charges. CPS does not hold details centrally on the numbers or costs of 'pay-as-you-talk' telephones and 'top-up' cards which are purchased at CPS Area level.
(1) figures for year to date
(2) some 1998–99 rental and call charges fell for payment in 1999–2000 but not possible to identify separately
(3) active number as at November 2004
(4) cost to August 2004
(5) figures for year to date
13 Dec 2004 : Column 793W
(6) figures for year to date
TRANSPORT
Car Emissions
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how much funding has been provided to local authorities to enable them to conduct random roadside emissions tests as introduced in regulations in July 2002; [201209]
(2) how many cars have failed random roadside emissions tests in each year since 1997; how many fixed penalties have been issued to drivers whose cars have failed random roadside emissions tests; and how many other enforcement actions have been taken against drivers whose cars have failed random roadside emissions tests; [201210]
(3) how many vehicles other than cars have failed random roadside emissions tests in each year since 1997; how many fixed penalties have been issued to the owners of these vehicles in the same period; and how many other enforcement actions have been taken against the owners of these vehicles in the same period. [201211]
Mr. Jamieson: £1,966,800 has been allocated to local authorities to carry out roadside emissions checks under the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (England) Regulations 2002.
A pilot scheme allowing seven local authorities to carry out vehicle emissions tests took place between February 1998 and January 1999. Checks were also carried out by local authorities in the financial year 2003–04. The following table shows the number of cars that failed the check and the enforcement action taken.
| 1998–99 | 2003–04 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of failures | 2,336 | 2,100 |
| Failure rate (percentage) | 11 | 7 |
| Fixed penalty | 985 | (7)— |
| Advised | 1,351 | (7)— |
(7) Unknown
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Relatively few fixed penalties have been issued as the primary purpose of the local authority emissions checking scheme is not to generate revenue but to encourage motorists to regularly service and maintain their cars.
The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) also carry out emissions checks on all vehicles including cars.
VOSA do not issue fixed penalties. Instead, vehicles which fail a roadside emissions check are issued with a prohibition. This prohibits the vehicle from being moved from a date specified in the prohibition notice if the emissions levels are not rectified.
The following table shows the numbers of prohibitions (Prb) issued for each category of vehicle failing a VOSA roadside emissions check since 1997and the failure rate as a percentage of all vehicles checked.
| HGV | PSV | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prb | (Percentage) | Prb | (Percentage) | |
| 2003–04 | 36 | (0.5) | 16 | (0.3) |
| 2002–03 | 59 | (0.8) | 27 | (0.5) |
| 2001–02 | 78 | (0.8) | 40 | (0.6) |
| 2000–01 | 101 | (1.0) | 36 | (0.5) |
| 1999–2000 | 123 | (0.8) | 45 | (0.5) |
| 1998–99 | 203 | (1.7) | 99 | (1.2) |
| 1997–98 | 324 | (2.5) | 198 | (1.8) |
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